Rest | What are life’s joys?

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by Ignaz Hub (1810 - 1880)

Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Ruhe

(Sung text for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: German (Deutsch)

Our translations: ENG

Was sind des Lebens Freuden?
Ein Quell geheimer Leiden,
Ein ewiger Verlust.
Kein Glück ist uns beschieden,
Nie trinken wir den Frieden
Aus unsrer Mutter.

Die Hoffnung winkt den Thoren,
Zum Leid sind wir geboren,
Das ist des Menschen Loos.
Was hold bescheert der Morgen,
Hüllt schon voll bitt'rer Sorgen
Die Nacht in ihren Schoos.

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2 of the original text.

Note for Lang's setting: in the repetition of stanza 1, line 6, the line becomes "Aus ihrer Brust".

Composition:

Josephine Lang

Text Authorship:

by Ignaz Hub (1810 - 1880), "Ruhe", subtitle: "Τους γαρ θανόντας ουχ ορώ λυπουμένους"

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Rest", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2015-01-19
Line count: 24
Word count: 111

Rest

(Sung text translation for setting by J. Lang)

See original

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

What are life’s joys?
A source of secret suffering,
An eternal loss.
No happiness is our lot,
Never do we imbibe peace
From our mother

Hope signals to fools,
We are born to suffer,
That is the fate of mankind.
What the morning has lovingly offered,
The womb of night already
Wraps in bitter anxieties.

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2 of the original text.

Note: the subtitle "Τους γαρ θανόντας ουχ ορώ λυπουμένους" can be translated "Since I see that the dead are relieved of pain" in The Electra of Sophocles, edited with introduction and notes by Sir Richard Jebb, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1894.

Note for Lang's setting: when stanza 1, line 6 is repeated, it can be translated "From her breast".

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2015 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Ignaz Hub (1810 - 1880), "Ruhe", subtitle: "Τους γαρ θανόντας ουχ ορώ λυπουμένους"
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Go to the general single-text view

This text was added to the website: 2015-01-19
Line count: 24
Word count: 121